Culture minister meets counterparts from BJP-ruled states

Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma today had a meeting with his counterparts from the BJP-ruled states, during which he reviewed the status of the programmes related to his ministry in these states.

The meeting was attended by the culture ministers of all the BJP-ruled states, along with senior party leaders Ram Lal and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. RSS leaders Dattatreya Hosabale and Krishna Gopal were also present.

"The meeting was aimed at reviewing the status of the programmes announced by the Culture Ministry in these states. The minister wanted to know about the progress of the projects announced in the BJP's manifesto over the last two years and how much was needed to be done in the next two years," said a source close to Sharma.
 

Sources said no official of the Culture Ministry was present at the meeting, the focus of which was on the programmes planned in the name of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, an RSS ideologue.

The meeting was held under the aegis of the BJP's good governance department headed by Sahasrabuddhe.

Since coming to power at the Centre in 2014, the BJP has launched a number of initiatives to popularise Upadhyay's ideas, including his philosophy of integral humanism, as it believes that the Hindutva mascot did not get his due from the governments headed by non-BJP parties.

With the party currently celebrating Upadhyay's birth centenary, it has given a push to the related programmes.